MOTHER OF GOD "KYKKOTISSA"
The Monastery of Kykkos, also known as the Monastery of the Mother of God of Kykkos and the Holy, Royal and Stavropegic Monastery of Kykkos, is among the principal monasteries of the Church of Cyprus. During the reign of the Eastern Roman emperor Alexius Komnenus I near the turn of the eleventh to twelfth century, the governor of Cyprus, Manuel Boutoumites, moved to the cooler mountain valley of Marathasa to escape the sultry heat of Nicosia. Lost in the forest during a hunt, Boutoumites met the monk Isaiah, and asked Isaiah to show him the way out of the forest. Not interested in the things of this world, Isaiah did not respond to Boutoumites' questions and received in return Boutoumites' anger and abuse. After his return to Nicosia, Boutoumites became ill with a lethargy. Remembering his ill treatment of the hermit Isaiah, Boutoumites prayed to God for a cure so that he could return to ask personally for forgiveness. While Boutoumites was healed and saw Isaiah again, God had already appeared to Isaiah and advised him that what happened was a divine plan and that Isaiah was to ask of Boutoumites to bring the icon of the Virgin painted by the Apostle Luke to Cyprus. When Isaiah related the divine wish to Boutoumites, he was astonished as the icon was kept in the imperial palace in Constantinople. After the hermit had explained the divine wish they agreed to travel to Constantinople together for the realization of their aim.
In time, by divine dispensation the daughter of the emperor became ill with the same illness that had struck Boutoumites. Grasping the opportunity, Boutoumites approached the emperor and recounted his experience with Isaiah and assured the emperor that his daughter would be cured if the icon was sent to Cyprus. With the emperor's agreement his daughter recovered. But, reluctant to lose the icon, the emperor had an exact copy made, planning to send the copy to Cyprus. That evening the Mother of God appeared to the emperor in a dream and told him it was her wish that the original icon should go to Cyprus and the copy retained in Constantinople. The following day the original icon set sail to Cyprus. Upon its arrival the icon was taken by Isaiah in procession to the Troodos mountains during which, according to tradition, the trees took part in the welcoming ceremonies by piously bending their trunks and branches as the icon passed. The icon came to be held at Kykkos in a church and monastery that was patronized by emperor Alexius Komnenus. The main treasure of Kykkos Monastery is the icon of the Mother of God Kykkotissa. The icon remains hidden under a protective covering, and is rarely uncovered.Source : Monastery of Kykkos : Orthodox Wiki |
